The Curse of Youth: A Buffic
by NeverSpeakOfLove
Summary: A 'lost episode' somewhere in the middle of season 3. A new threat comes to town, forcing the Scooby Gang to do things a bit differently. The Slayer's incapacitated, the Big Bad is a total mystery, and Wesley wears A SATCHEL! I'm horrid at summaries.


Rating: Eh, PG-13 for now. You know, for violent acts of slayage and otherwise. Don't let your nine year old read it.

Disclaimer: Lord Whedon owns all. I offered him my soul in exchange for Buffy, but he said no, so, they're still his. For now. Let's see what he says when I offer him my soul AND my firstborn child! :D

Setting: Somewhere over the Hellmouth during glorious Season Three. Post-Helpless and crap, so Wesley Wyndham-Price is there, and as far as characters go, everyone's all good and canon. This was my version of like a lost episode somewhere up in there.

Author's Notes: I'd always dreamed about them writing an episode like this. And since things got a bit more complicated for the characters after season 3, I decided that 3 was the best season-setting for the little fanfic episode adventure deal. I'd love it if you reviewed, but really, I'm just glad you read it!

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><p>"I'm <em>bored.<em>" Cordelia moaned for the twentieth time.

"Then go home. We have serious book-hitting to do." Buffy told her. Truthfully, Buffy wasn't all that excited about it either, but it was at least easier to read small, tiny complicated text under too-yellow lamplight in a library above the Hellmouth when you didn't have Cordelia yapping in your ear. It was too harsh light, to hard to read, and she was way to exhausted...

Buffy slammed her book down on the long oak table harder than she'd intended. The others looked up; Oz and Willow from their position leaning against each other on the stairs, Cordelia and Xander from across the table, Wesley from his place at the opposite end, Faith from next to her, and Giles from his... well, from his chosen path of pacing while holding a book in one hand with the other buried in his slacks pocket.

"This is no use! There's nothing on 'the Nurturer' anywhere in these books. Giles, there has to be some other way to find him. I mean, it's not like Sunnydale is exactly a labyrinth. We could go hunting for him. Bring the fight to him."

Giles stopped pacing at the end of the table next to Buffy, setting his book down. "Yes, well, stalking through the bad side of Sunnydale at night, even for a Slayer, is quite dangerous. Perhaps we should hold off until we know more."

Buffy nodded, but was obviously bothered by the slow action. This demon had ruined five people's lives already. How many more could she allow?

Wesley cleared his throat, and looked at the others, waiting for them to look over to him – though sometimes, it looked like he was waiting for their applause, rather than their attention. "As your Watcher, in my professional opinion, I believe that Mr. Giles has a point. We shouldn't go picking a fight until we have the proper knowledge. Besides, Buffy, you lack in your weaponry training, as you haven't yet mastered the quarter-length spear."

"When will I need a 'quarter-length spear for _anything?_" Buffy whined. Giles had schooled her in weapons, as well, but at least he hadn't been anal about every single weapon a slayer had ever used. Hell, Giles had allowed her to use a _rocket launcher, _and here was this guy telling her that it was vital to master the quarter-length freaking spear that she could probably break over her knee.

"Yeah," Faith added, putting her demon encyclopedia down and cracking her knuckles. "I'm sick of this. Let's go find this guy and kick his ass." Honestly, Faith didn't want to get into it with a demon right now – but it was bound to be a hell of a lot better than sitting here playing bookworm. Knowledge or not, she wanted to go tear this guy a new one. What was the worst thing that could happen? With her and B both at maximum slayage, this Nurturer bastard didn't stand a chance.

"Maybe that's a good idea. You know, so that he can't curse anyone else," Willow added, her face grim. "And so far, the only thing I managed to find about anyone calling themselves the Nurturer was this story about a demon going to a town, and turning the townspeople into children. It's an urban legend, but over here -" Willow flipped through to a different page of the book. "-it identifies this demon as a demon that 'kills with youth', and the description matches the one in the story, which matches a picture, which matches Buffy's description." More like Buffy's sad, stick-figure drawing. As far as they knew, Buffy and Faith ran into it on patrol. It was cocky, oddly human, and told them it was the Nurturer, to be feared and not to be trifled with, yadda yadda, the usual demon stuff that Willow always heard them say.

Xander shook his head. "I'm sorry, what?"

Giles paced over to Willow. "Where did you see that?"

Willow showed him, and he _hmmed._

"What? What 'hmm'? Good 'hmm'? Bad 'hmm'? Giles, speak!" said Buffy.

Giles looked up. "Oh, yes. Well, it seems that Willow is correct. I assume this means the demon can turn people... into children. But I have no idea how that could kill them. Perhaps that renders them incapable of defending themselves, and then he kills them by means of physical force?"

"Or maybe he turns them super-young. Like, dead-without-TLC young." Xander offered.

"He turns people young again?" Cordelia brightened. "Maybe we should capture him and keep him in a cage, so when we grow old he can do our faces!" The scoobies looked at her oddly. "You know, so we don't have to use botox. Duh!" Cordelia explained.

"What is wrong with you, Cordelia?" Xander said, bemused.

"Well, excuse me for thinking outside the box." Cordelia rose from her chair, and slipped her purse onto her shoulder. "I've got a history test first period tomorrow. I'm going home."

Xander also got up, not without getting a look from Willow. "Sorry, guys," he explained. "She's my ride." He shamefully shuffled out of the library behind Cordelia's defiant stride.

Oz looked at the clock as Xander and Cordelia made their way out of the library. "11:00," he read aloud. "Early enough, but I'm starting to get a little lethargic."

"Same," Buffy agreed, yawning.

"Well, we could go get coffee," Willow offered, linking her fingers through Oz's.

Oz smiled up at her. "Sounds good. Anyone want anything?"

"Oh, espresso, please," Giles said.

"And those mini jelly donuts!" Wesley exclaimed. Faith, Buffy, and Giles all exchanged looks.

_The man won't let me go out without knowledge of the quarter-length spear, but he'll squeal for jelly donuts._ Buffy thought, annoyed..

"Black coffee for me," Faith said.

"Same," Buffy said.

Willow got her bag and Oz fished for his keys, and with that, they too were gone.

Giles sat across from Buffy. "So far, we've had three attacks. All on teenagers, even when there were older victims, healthier victims, and richer victims available nearby. Why could that be?"

Buffy shrugged. "Maybe his powers only apply so far? Like, they only work for people under a certain age?"

"Or perhaps that's his profile. He prefers younger targets." Wesley suggested.

"Is this guy like a pedo or something?" Faith asked. "What's the point of making people young again?"

"The fun of it, of course." Rasped an evil, cold voice from behind them.

Standing in the doorway was a green, shriveled creature wearing long, dark robes, with black eyes and sharp canine teeth bared in a sinister smile.

They all whirled around to see the demon. Faith immediately stood. Giles moved protectively in front of his Slayers, eyes on the demon. How the bloody hell did it get in here? Demons never confronted them here, in this inner sanctum. Which meant, of course, that this demon was powerful enough for it to believe it had a fighting chance.

"So you are the Nurturer," Wesley concluded.

_No shit, Wesley, _Buffy thought.

"Yes," the thing said. "And you are my victims. Grovel before me, small humans, or I shall smite you all."

That was it. Faith wasn't going to just sit here like a fucking sissy any longer. Screw this 'Nurturer' danger shit. He was toast.

The dark-haired slayer broke into a fast dash and rushed the creature, fists balled. She made a swipe for his head which he easily dodged, delivering a hard blow to the diaphragm, flooring her. In seconds, he delivered several well-placed kicks that left Faith on the ground, battered.

The thing laughed.

"Faith!" Buffy cried out. Giles knew that this demon was not to be trifled with; his beating of Faith was testimony enough to that. It was better that they proceed carefully.

Which, of course, was the exact opposite of what Buffy wanted to do. Buffy moved out from behind Giles and tried to move toward Faith.

She never made it that far.

A blue jolt of electric energy shot from the creatures fingers and hit Buffy square in the chest, knocking her off her feet and behind them into the back of the library.

Giles wanted so bad to sprint back there and help her, but he knew turning his back on this thing was not wise. It laughed, waved it's hands, and vanished.

Giles darted up the small set of stairs and looked around. Two small bookcases had been knocked over, and volumes had been scattered everywhere, but Buffy was nowhere to be scene. A fleck of movement caught Giles's eye, and he gasped.

A blonde, hazel-eyed two year old girl with pale pink skin and small, ruby lips grabbed the edge of a bookshelf, using it to help herself to her feet. She was tiny, with a small gash on her forehead and scrapes on the arm that Giles guessed broke her fall.

He didn't need to ask. He knew who she was. Even as a two year old child, she looked like herself.

_He cursed them with youth._

Giles ran to her, scooping her up into his arms.

"Buffy."

* * *

><p>Giles had put a bandage on her head wound, cleaned and tended to her scrapes, and wrapped a small blanket he found in his office around her. Apparently, clothes meant for an eighteen-year-old girl didn't fit too well on a three year old child. Wesley had contacted Willow and told her to go find some smaller clothing for this younger Buffy, explaining what happened.<p>

Faith had been okay, apart from some majorly bruised ribs that had needed to be taped up, a nasty concussion, and a fractured wrist which Giles had wrapped with an ace bandage – her Slayer healing abilities allowed for the absence of a cast, but that didn't mean that it didn't still hurt like hell.

"Woah," Faith said finally, looking at the disoriented mini-Buffy sitting on the oak table. "Little B." She turned in her chair to smile the little girl, who was looking down silently at her feet poking out of the blanket.

"Yes, quite," Giles agreed, pulling up a chair on the end of the table where Buffy sat.

"Buffy?" he asked softly, looking at the small girl. She looked back at him. Good. So she knew her name. "Buffy, do you remember anything? Do you know who we are?"

The younger Buffy looked at Giles and Faith. "Faith," she said in her small, high voice, pointing to the other slayer. "And Daddy," she pointed to Giles.

"Daddy? What's up with that?" Faith asked, looking to Giles. Wesley stood behind Faith and Giles, staring at Buffy as if he were trying to figure out if it was really her.

"I'm... I'm not sure," Giles said, cleaning his glasses. Truthfully, hearing that warmed his heart, but he had to admit, it was extremely odd. He was not oblivious to the fact that he was the main paternal figure in Buffy's life, but it wasn't as if she called him '_Daddy'._

Or perhaps...

Willow and Oz burst through the door, holding a Goodwill bag, and some Dunkin' Donuts coffee.

"Wow," Oz said as Willow set the coffee down, putting the Goodwill bag on the table next to Buffy. "That's amazing."

Willow leaned down to meet Buffy's eye level. "Hi!" she said, smiling. Buffy smiled back at her, a cute, little-kid smirk.

"Aww, she's so cute!" Willow squealed.

"Sissy!" Buffy exclaimed, waving at Willow.

Faith's eyebrows went up. "We have another winner."

"What?"

"She called Giles 'Daddy' just a minute ago." Faith explained.

Willow looked at Giles, and then at Wesley. "Is she out of it or something?"

"No," Giles answered, studying Buffy. "Nor is she completely lucid. Because the mental complexity and maturity of an eighteen year old is much more advanced than that of a three year old, it seems that her perception of her surroundings and companions has been greatly decreased. I believe that little Buffy only knows what the older Buffy's subconscious believes. In her subconscious mind, Buffy sees me, I assume, as her father figure, and you, Willow, as sort of a sister." Giles put his hands in his pockets, studying the smaller Buffy. "Or at least, that's my theory so far. "

"Hey, why don't I get to be a family member?" Faith whined. She turned to Buffy and smiled at her. "Remember me, Buffy? I'm Mommy!" Buffy laughed and clapped her hands.

Giles rolled his eyes, turning the small child back to him and Willow. "Let's not confuse her, shall we?"

"Faith's funny!" Buffy said enthusiastically.

"She's so cute. Can we keep her?" Faith asked, looking at Giles.

Ignoring Faith's teasing comments, Giles turned to Willow as she dumped the contents of the GoodWill bag on the table – a tiny blue shirt, white cotton shorts, little socks and velcro shoes.

"We weren't sure if the shoes would fit, but we figured it was better than having her go around barefoot until we find out how to fix this thing." Willow laid out the outfit as Oz passed around everyone's coffee.

"Yeah, how are we going to reverse this?" Oz asked. He was both intrigued and amazed. Younger Buffy was quite the marvel. He wondered what she knew, what she didn't. It would make for interesting thought later.

Giles took off his glasses and began to clean them with the end of his shirt. "I don't know, actually. I assume that killing the demon will reverse all of his curses, but I cannot be sure until we find something on him. In the mean time, however, I think we need to contact Mrs. Summers and let her know what's going on."

"Yeah... also, will that demon come back? I mean, how did it get into the library?" Oz asked.

"I'm not sure. I'm not even sure how it knew we were here. To tell you the truth, it seemed quite surprised that Faith was that fast, that strong. I think he might have attacked the school hoping he'd find victims, not necessarily the slayer. But, he did, and now Buffy has been cursed. Again, I think we should contact Joyce immediately."

"Um, Giles?" Willow said hesitantly. "Mrs. Summers is in Nevada for the next seven days. Big Gallery thing. She's staying at this nice hotel, and she's going to bring back pictures of all of these collages and..."

"That's very good, Willow, but right now I think we need to focus on where Buffy should stay, as she's obviously not capable of taking care of herself. I normally would volunteer my own home, but unfortunately, I haven't the room."

"Me neither. My cousins are coming in this weekend." Oz said.

Willow frowned. "Well, why doesn't Buffy just stay at her own house? We can take shifts keeping an eye on her. I mean, that would probably be better than bringing her into a whole different place she might not even remember." Willow pushed her red hair behind her ear. "Or maybe we could all stay there with her until Buffy's mom gets back. Y'know, in the guest room and stuff."

"Hmm. Well, I propose we call the council and allow them to decide means of-"

"No." Willow, Giles, and Faith answered simultaneously.

"What? As her watcher, Buffy is my responsibility-"

"Yes, as the watcher, you are responsible for the _Slayer_." Willow said. "But Buffy obviously isn't in Slayer mode right now. Guardianship then transfers over to it's rightful place – Buffy's family and friends."

"Buffy's family is in Nevada-"

"But Giles is here," Faith cut in. "I mean, he's practically raised B for what, the past three years? 'Sides, Lil' B called him Dad, so what's the problem?"

Giles smiled. "I'd be more than happy to care for her until we find a way to reverse this. In the mean time, why don't we get her changed and and ask her some basic questions, to find out what she knows and doesn't know. Then we can bring her to her home and care for her from there."

"Cool," Faith said. She grabbed Buffy's clothing as Willow and her went to change Buffy in the privacy of Giles's office.

"Do you think we should call Xander and Cordelia?" Oz asked.

"I think not," Giles said. "Cordelia has a test in the morning, and Xander is obviously tired. We don't need their aid immediately, so, I think we can wait until the morning."

"They're going to be pretty... shocked."

"Yes, they will. And, of course, we need to find a decent excuse to why Buffy will not be attending her classes."

"We could say she's sick?"

"No, sicknesses lasting more than a day require a parent's note."

Oz got up from his position leaning against the table, and shrugged. "So forge one. I know if you can't, Willow could. Or maybe Buffy has pre-forged ones at her house, you know, just in case because of the whole slayer thing. For the nights I have to lock up in the book cage, I just put pre-written notes on the coffee table for my dad."

"Yes, quite. Mr. Travers has told me I have excellent penmanship. I could definitely write a legible note." Wesley stated proudly.

Oz rolled his eyes.

Giles nodded. "I see. Well, we may end up having to forge one like you suggest, Oz."

Willow and Faith emerged from Giles's office with a clothed Buffy. Her blonde hair fell a bit past her chin, wavy and light, and she stared up at Willow's face from her arms with a cuddly affection.

Buffy didn't know what exactly was going on, or why she had so many ouchies. She remembered slamming into some books, and then Daddy finding her and holding her. Then he put the stingy stuff on it that he called anti-septic or something like that, and then she got a blanket, and then Sissy and Faith put her in clothes and then now.

Giles watched as Willow tried awkwardly to set Buffy down on the table, struggling to hold her properly.

"Here," Giles said, taking Buffy from her helpfully. He positioned her perfectly in his arms, to where her head was resting against his chest and he was supporting her firmly. "See?" he said, showing Willow. "It's quite simple." He offered his daughter-figure back to Willow, but she shook her head.

"No," Willow said, smiling at the young Buffy. "She seems more comfortable with you, anyway."

Giles looked down at Buffy, her little hands clinging onto his shirt front, her head resting against his chest peacefully. She scanned the room with her little hazel-green eyes, gaze darting from Faith, to Willow, to Oz, to Wesley, and back again.

And he watched her as she made the motions from each of them, a small smile on his face. It was a mundane action to the others, but he watched her with the enamored gaze of a parent.

"Alright, so... Oz and I will meet you at Buffy's house?" Willow asked, looking at Giles.

He tore his gaze away from Buffy. "Yes, of course. Wesley, Faith, are you coming?"

"I'm afraid I cannot. I think I'll spend the night researching." Wesley said, slipping his leather satchel around his shoulder.

Yes, Wesley wore a _satchel._

"Faith?"

The other slayer pointed at Oz and Willow. "I'm riding with them."

Giles nodded, and he draped his tweed jacket over his arm and carried a book with one hand, Buffy in the other. Together, the slightly confused and all together intrigued Scooby Gang made their way to their cars.

Giles opened the backseat of his car, setting his jacket and book down on one side and Buffy on the other. Carefully, he strapped her in, making sure to put the chest strap behind her and tighten the belt. All the while, she was quiet, watching him. He never imagined Buffy would be a quiet child.

He looked at her, looked at her in this youth. He wondered what it would have been like had the council not overlooked her as a potential. He imagined being handed two-year-old Buffy, looking just like this, to be raised by him.

Perhaps she would have been better prepared. More disciplined. Wiser.

But then, she wouldn't be her. And he loved her for her personality, every aspect, good and bad. He figured it was caring of a good Watcher.

But he knew better. It was not the caring of a watcher... it was the unconditional affection of a father.

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><p>End of Chapter One. More to come, so please stay tuned! ~NeverSpeakOfLove<p> 


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